Why Did Soviet Intervention in Afghanistan After 1979 Fail so Catastrophically?

The intervention in Afghanistan was a nightmare for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics(USSR),which contributed to its destruction.The failure of intervention involves four factors.First,although the Soviet Union intended to stabilize Afghanistan and consolidate its geopolitical interests,the decision to intervene was cursory.Second,the USSR encountered the failure of nation-building,including the unfavorable economic conditions,political struggles in Afghanistan,infighting between the USSR and the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan(PDPA),and Soviet advisors’arrogance and ignorance.In terms of the military aspect,the USSR could not attain military superiority due to the mujahideen’s guerrilla tactics,and the Soviet army’s cruelty in military operation alienated Afghan people.Fourth,the invasion left the Soviet Union isolated in diplomacy and boosted American and Pakistani support to the mujahideen.The USSR gained nothing from the withdrawal.

Reinhardt,Anne,Navigating Semi-Colonialism:Shipping,Sovereignty,and Nation-Building in China,1860—1937

The introduction of steamships to East Asia in the 19th century had a considerable impact on water transportation in that region,which remains the most fuel-efficient transportation method even now.The steamship was a symbol of exceptional western technology when it spread throughout the world.The book under review is a revision of author's PhD thesis,focusing on the effects of steamships,a modem technology from the mid-19th century to 1937,upon the development of commerce in Chinese inland waters.

A Nation-Building Analysis of Jordan’s Response to Pandemic with the Perspective of Political Integration

This paper explores the approach of political integration behind the decision-making made by the Jordanian government in response to the threat of the COVID-19 global pandemic.Although Jordan is a developing MENA country that has relatively controlled the spread of the epidemic,especially in the first half of 2020,through 2020,to fight COVID-19,the Jordanian government was generally reluctant to give up nation-building that could contribute to political integration.Those specific policies to fight the pandemic are not only for‘knee-hopping’to responding to short-term suppression of public health security threats,but to smoothly maintain the existing political system,conveying comprehensive political culture,coping with external expectations,and balancing domestic forces in particular between ethnic groups,so as to achieve political integration required by a solid nation state.

The Role of Norm Entrepreneurship in Nation-Building:Sheikh Zayed of the United Arab Emirates

Focussing on Sheikh Zayed,the founder of the United Arab Emirates,this paper examines the way norm entrepreneurship functions in nation-building.As an effectual norm entrepreneur who championed certain transformative nation-building norms,Sheikh Zayed transformed the UAE into a modern state without sacrificing its traditional identity.Politically,these norms include the adoption of federalism as a governing mechanism,his practice of consultative and consensus governance,adherence to an unwritten social contract between rulers and citizens,and the promotion of philanthropy as a tool of foreign policy.Socially,Sheikh Zayed promoted tolerance,empowered women,and provided a safety net for the vulnerable.Economically,his economic philosophy was pragmatic and effectively distributed wealth,set up a sovereign fund,diversified the economy,invested in economic and social infrastructure,and pursued environmental conservation.

From Democracy to Bureaucracy： The Baojia in Nationalist Thought and Practice, 1927-1949

In the 1939 New County Reforms, the Nationalist government made the baojia system the lowest level of self-government in the country. This decision was the result of more than ten years of discussion among Nationalist administrators and writers who were searching for a tutelary system to train the people in their political rights in preparation for constitutional rule. In the 1920s and 1930s, Nationalist writers claimed to be following Sun Zhongshan＇s （Sun Yat-sen） philosophy by reinventing the baojia as a form of democracy. Harkening back to a reimagined national past, they ＂discovered＂ that the imperial baojia was not a system of local control, but a traditional model of bureaucratically-designed local self-government. Nationalist writers dovetailed this new baojia with Sun Zhongshan＇s philosophy in order to rationalize its position as the foundation of the Three Principles of the People State. Once philosophically legitimized, Nationalist writers endorsed the baojia as a top-down bureaucratic system that would transform the political, social, and economic life of the country; it would become the core political unit of their state-making and nation-building projects. In so doing, the baojia came to represent the Nationalists＇ deeply-held belief in the power of human agency to create state institutions capable of entirely remaking society and transforming the nation.

Demythologizing Politicized Myths： A New Interpretation of the Seven Gentlemen Incident

This article investigates a political event in modern China that has received relatively little attention in the West. The Seven Gentlemen Incident occurred in the midst of the national crisis of Japanese aggression, when an independent patriotic movement led by seven Shanghai intellectuals organized the National Salvation Association and urged Chiang Kai-shek to fight the Japanese invaders. The Chiang regime, however, arrested the seven and accused them of plotting to overthrow the government. They were released only after Japan launched a full-scale attack on China in July 1937. Scholars have offered varying images of the incident. While the Seven Gentlemen were denounced as criminals by the Nationalists in Chinese Taiwan, they were respected as national heroes in Chinese mainland. Myths with conflicting viewpoints have been created. What were the life and career backgrounds of these people？ Were they petty-bourgeoisie, as some mainlanders assume？ Were the seven figures, as mainland Chinese claim, motivated under communist leadership to organize their association？ What were their relations with the Nationalist regime and the Communist Party？ This article endeavors to answer these questions based on new primary documents in particular archival material and offers new perspectives on this fascinating episode of modern China.

Globalization and Chinese Education in the Early 20th Century

With China’s growing significance in the global economy ever more evident,studies in recent years have highlighted multiple aspects of China’s“Globalization”(or global connections)that predate the contemporary period.This article focuses on educational reform in the late Qing and early Republic as a way of illuminating a significant aspect of China’s Globalization during this period.In particular,the article highlights the role of an emerging Chinese educational“lobby”that was involved in administration,teaching,and textbook compilation;furthermore,this lobby pioneered the introduction of new ideas,concepts,and innovative practice from abroad in the specialized journals on education-the first of their kind in China-which they edited and contributed to.More significantly,contributors to these journals engaged with and discussed educational issues and problems that were simultaneously being debated in the West.In the process Chinese educators and officials were able to draw upon,either to valorize or critique,a wide spectrum of contemporary foreign educational debate and practice in their prognosis of domestic education and its future.The picture that emerges of Chinese education during this period is one in which Chinese educators perceived themselves very much as active participants in a global educational community.